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A Project Management Framework: Organizing, Planning and Controlling Projects

Course Overview

A Project Management Framework examines project management in theory and practice and the roles and responsibilities of the project manager. It offers a practical approach to managing projects, focusing on organizing, planning, and controlling the work of the project.  The course is based on the best and most current thinking in the field, particularly the Project Management Institute’s (PMI®) approach described in A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide). Case studies, active participation in team workshops, and practical information reinforce learning.  At the end of the course, participants will know why project management requires a high degree of professionalism, and how to develop that skill in their future projects.

Day 1 of the course defines the technical and subsidiary plans for a project and includes workshops to develop the technical plan. The Work Breakdown Structure is shown to be the deliverable that guides and defines the work to be performed to complete the project objective.

Day 2 of the course concludes the technical planning processes with Scope, Time, Cost, and Quality and defines the subsidiary plans of Human Resource, Communications, Risk, and Procurement. Workshops for each of the nine knowledge areas give participants hands-on experience in the planning processes.

Day 3 of the course concludes the planning processes and guides the participants through Execution, Monitoring & Control, and Closing. An exception workshop gives participants practice in responding to change in the project.

Who Should Attend

The course is intended for first time or new project managers, business managers, and project team members with little or no formal project management training.  It is also appropriate for experienced project managers, or managers of project managers, who lack knowledge of the structured processes outlined in A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide).

A one-day version of this course (without workshops) is offered as a Project Management Overview for Executives and Senior Managers.

Course Content

Day One

Introduction:

  • Participant introductions
  • Exercise – A Project Evaluation
  • What is project management?
  • The challenges faced by the project manager

Project Management Framework:

  • Lifecycles.  Standards.  Methodologies
  • Business vs. technical project management
  • PMI, the PMBOK® Guide: ANSI Standard
  • PMI’s OPM3 for maturity assessments
  • Phases, Process Groups, and Knowledge Areas
  • Project Initiation
  • Workshop 1 – The Project Charter
  • Project Process Flow

Project Organization:

  • The project management organization model
  • The Project Board and the project manager
  • The PMO (Program Management Office)
  • The project team.
  • Organizational causes of failure
  • Workshop 2 – Organizing for case study project

Project Planning Introduction:

  • Why plan?  Planning and its linkage to failure.
  • Product planning vs. project planning
  • Product/technical plans – Scope, Time, Cost, and Quality
  • Project management plans: Human Resources, Risk, Communications, Procurement, Organization

Project Technical Planning:

  • Scope planning and definition
  • Product decomposition
  • The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
  • Workshop 3 – The case study WBS

Day Two

Project Technical Planning (continued):

  • Time: define, sequence, estimate, and schedule activities
  • Cost estimating.  Budgeting
  • Quality planning
  • Workshop 4 – The case study technical plan

Project Management Planning – the subsidiary plans:

  • Human Resource Management
  • Workshop 5 –H.R. Management Plan
  • Risk Management Plan
  • Workshop 6 – Risk Management in action
  • Workshop 7 – Develop Risk Management Plan
  • Procurement Management Plan – plan and execute project procurements
  • Workshop 8 – Develop the Procurement Management Plan
  • Communication Management Plan – identify and communicate effectively with project stakeholders
  • Workshop 9 – Develop the Communication Management Plan

Day Three

Project Planning (conclusion):

  • Pulling the plans together
  • The Project Plan
  • Integrated Change Control

Executing the Project:

  • Team development
  • Procure outside resources
  • Quality Assurance
  • Information distribution

Controlling the Project:

  • What is control?
  • Life cycles – end stage assessments – Controlling the big picture
  • Levels of responsibility for control – Business and product quality controls
  • Integrated change control
  • Performance reporting – monitoring and control
  • Exceptions – technical and business
  • Risk monitoring and control, including issues
  • Project failures related to controls
  • Workshop 10 – Case study exception evaluation

Closing the Project:

  • Contract close-out
  • Administrative close-out
  • Lessons learned
  • Archiving project information

Course Wrap-up:

  • Evaluations

MTI Event Dates

Events